Not all aircraft runways are perfectly flat or planar. On the contrary, many airfields have runways that have undesirable topographical conditions. For example, some runways may have undulations (i.e., an alternating upward and downward swelling of the runway's upper surface). Others may be built into a hill and may have an upward or downward grade. Still others may have isolated bumps or patches of rough, broken, or uneven pavement. A pilot who is not familiar with the specific topographical conditions of a particular runway may incorrectly assume that the runway is substantially flat and smooth. Such a pilot may be surprised when taking-off and/or landing on a runway having one or more of the above described topographical conditions and may control the aircraft in a manner that adversely affects the aircraft.
For example, a pilot who is unaware that a particular runway has a valley formed by an undulation in the surface of the runway may lower the nose of the aircraft when landing in order to track the downward sloping surface of the runway. This may cause the nose gear of the aircraft to have a hard, jolting initial contact with the runway surface when the sloping surface of the runway changes direction and begins to slope upwardly. In some instances, the nose itself or the tail of the aircraft may make contact with runway if the changing slope of the runway surface is severe enough. On a runway having a patch of rough or uneven pavement or having an isolated bump, a pilot who is familiar with such topographical conditions may simply refrain from landing the aircraft until after the aircraft has flown over such topographical conditions by computing runway remaining distance to safely land. In the case of insufficient remaining runway distance, the pilot can follow the missed approach procedure. A pilot who is unfamiliar with such topographical conditions, however, may land the aircraft ahead of such topographical conditions, causing the landing gear, the nose gear, the nose and/or the tail of the aircraft to encounter the topographical conditions which, in turn, may cause the landing gear to experience excessive wear and tear.
Accordingly, it is desirable to make information about topographical conditions of the runway available to the pilot prior to takeoff and/or landing. In addition, it is desirable to present such information in a format that is easy for the pilot to understand. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.